PORTLAND, Ore. – Roger Gracie’s first fight at 185 pounds didn’t produce a finish, but it did result in a memorable victory for the former light heavyweight.

Gracie dominated Jardine for the opening two rounds while bloodying his opponent in violent fashion. The submission ace then put it on cruise control in the final frame and earned a unanimous-decision win.

The middleweight main-card bout was part of Saturday’s “Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy” event at Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Ore. The fight aired on Showtime following prelims on Showtime Extreme.

Gracie kept his distance early, and while he didn’t look like an expert-level striker, he was able to keep his distance and avoid taking any damage before he could close the distance and bring the fight to the floor. Jardine looked comfortable from his back, eventually crawling to the cage and moving back to his feet. He wouldn’t stay there long, as Gracie quickly tripped him back to the floor and moving into mount.

Once on top, Gracie looked for a submission but did the most damage with a few elbows that opened up several cuts on Jardine’s face and left him a bloody mess.

In the second, Jardine looked to work quickly on his feet, but he overextended himself and allowed Gracie to drag him to the floor and transition quickly to his back. Jardine’s cuts worsened as Gracie controlled from the back position, and while he defended any submission from coming in, “The Dean of Mean” could not escape from his opponent’s dominant grappling. A side choke briefly looked close to ending the fight, but Jardine refused to quit and gutted his way into the final round.

Gracie looked to tire a bit in the third, and Jardine was able to stuff a few takedown attempts and land in spurts with his trademark wild hooks. The taller Gracie tried to answer from distance, but the majority of his efforts were spent staying away from his opponent’s advances and cruising until the final bell and claiming the bout with scores of 29-27, 30-27 and 30-26.

“This fight with Keith was very important to me, especially considering all the tough guys he has fought and beaten throughout his career,” Gracie said. “I think what I’ve learned most from this fight is that I need to cut the weight right from here on out. I fell off in the third round because I left too much weight to cut on Friday.”